The First Steps of Modern Hebrew Education in our Town

by Moshe Goelman of blessed memory

Translated by
Jerrold Landau
With respect to modern
education, or as it was known in those days, improved (metukan)
education, our town, like all other towns in Poland and Russia prior to the
First World War, was very conservative. Jewish children studied in cheder, and
when they grew older, many were sent to continue their education in Yeshivas,
some close by and others far off. This was with respect to boys. Regarding
girls, most of them learned to read and write for one hour during the day in a
cheder, separate from the boys, and their period of study was very short. When
Reb Berl Siemienowicz sent his eldest daughter Sarake to Warsaw to study
courses for kindergarten teachers with Yechiel Halpern, this was an extremely
exceptional occurrence in our town.

The majority of the Zionist
maskilim in town were able to understand and speak Hebrew, and they would read
Hatzefirah or Hazman, the Hebrew dailies that were
published in Warsaw and Vilna. With regards to education, they relied on the
Cheder Hametukan whose curriculum was based on the study of Hebrew
language and its grammar, bible, and Jewish history. They also improved the
physical environment of school  that is to say, that it was not a group
of students sitting on benches on two sides of a long table, but rather
separate school desks along the length of the schoolroom, as was customary in
the government schools.

A revolution in the field of
Hebrew education did not occur at that time, but nevertheless, there were two
attempts in that direction that are worthy of noting.

a) Approximately two years
prior to the First World War, Chuna Mondensztejn,
the son of Yechiel the baker, returned to Stawiski and established the Cheder
Hametukan, consisting of a kindergarten and grade 1. It was a
metukan (improved) cheder in the full sense of the word both with
regards to its physical appearance and its curriculum. The room was rented
from one of the rich farmers who lived on the outskirts of the city, on the way
to the post office, behind the civic court building.

The students were mainly girls,
with a few boys. Only a few parents would
permit their sons to study in a cheder that had a mixture of girls and boys,
and where the teacher taught without a head covering. Furthermore, the course
of study was different from that which was traditional in the cheders. The
power of Chuna was in his song. He had a pleasant voice, and his enthusiastic
singing of Hebrew songs would draw the hearts of his students. At that time, I
was studying in a Yeshiva in a city far away from Stawiski, and I would come
home for Passover. I remembered visiting the Cheder Metukan of Chuna prior to
the holiday, and I recall that the students were singing songs of Passover and
sections of the Haggadah
[1]
.
The Cheder Hametukan of Chuna lasted about two years, until the outbreak of
the First World War.

b) During the First World War,
our town was conquered twice by the Germans: at
first for two weeks before Rosh Hashanah of 1914, and the second time in the
middle of the winter, in February, 1915. Our town was literally on the front
line during the first year of the war. The front itself was at the forest on
the route to Lomza. During the time of the occupation, Jewish youth were
conscripted for various tasks, such as paving the road between our town and
Jedwabne, fixing up other roads around our town, as well as sanitary work such
as cleaning the houses and inoculating the residents against influenza and
typhus, illnesses that were very prevalent in those days.

At the beginning of 1916, the
front moved in the favor of the Germans, with the conquest of Lomza, Warsaw,
and the surrounding regions. The occupying army in Stawiski was composed of
reservists. A German captain oversaw the town, and he had various guards at
his side. Chaim Zebulon Bramzon was appointed by the captain as the mayor of
the town, and several other prominent residents were appointed to the town
council.

The Jewish youth, for want of
anything to do, began to organize. The Hatechiya meeting place was set up,
which served as a location for meetings and various cultural activities. A
library was established, consisting mainly of Hebrew books. On Sabbath eves,
there were lectures. Members of the army and the German guards would come to
the lectures. We received permits from them to engage in cultural activities.
This detail is worthy of noting in the historical annals of our town during the
First World War.

At that time, there were two
centers of Jewish life in Stawiski: The Beis Midrash for the adults and
elderly in the town, and the Hatechiya hall for the youth. The cheders
fulfilled their role faithfully in imparting knowledge of Torah and fine
traditional education to the Jewish children.

Moshe Aryeh Brzostowiecki was
regarded as one of the finest teachers in the town, and excelled particularly
in the teaching of Talmud. When Chaim Zebulon Bramzon sent his oldest son, of
about ten years old, to study in the Cheder of M. A. Brzostowiecki, he mad a
condition that he would dedicate a few hours of the day to the study of Hebrew
language, Jewish history, and bible.

At that time, I was occupied
with private teaching to small groups of individuals, and Moshe Aryeh and Chaim
Zebulon turned to me and asked me to teach those subjects in the cheder. I
accepted this request happily, for I saw in it a chance to change the customary
teaching methodology, and take the first steps toward the founding of a Cheder
Metukan in town. For two semesters, summer and winter, I taught the students
in the Cheder of Moshe Aryeh five days a week, for about an hour and a half a
day. This was during the time that the Rebbe ate lunch and took his afternoon
rest.

Relations between us were
excellent. Moshe Aryeh was happy that the number of his students grew, and due
to the variation in curriculum, the students displayed greater interest, and
paid attention better even during the study of Talmud. To my sorrow, this
partnership only lasted for one year  1917  due to the opposition
of the teachers in the city and their supporters. The teachers feared that as
time would go on, they would be left without students, so they spread rumors
that we are turning away from the true path, and setting up a generation of
heretics
[2]
,
Heaven forbid.

I recall the graduation party
that took place in the month of Elul, at the end of the second and final
semester. A public quiz took placed in all of the subjects that the students
had studied during the semester. Chaim Zebulon Bramzon, Aharon Eliezer Zak and
David Dobrzyjalowski were the examiners. The emotions of both the students and
the examiners ran very high. When Chaim Zebulon heard his son answer one of
the questions in history, and explain the details of the era of Ezra, Nechemia
and the return to Zion  his eyes welled up with tears. He kissed his son
as well as the second student Zelig, the son of the teacher Moshe Aryeh, who
both excelled in their knowledge.

After the quiz, a party took
place, and presents were distributed to the teachers and the students. I
received a set of 5 machzorim for all of the holidays
[3]
inscribed with a special dedication. I still have them to this day.

From among the students, two in
particular stood out. These were the sons of Moshe Aryeh. One of them, the
first born Chaim, was a well-known teacher for many years in New York. He
authored several textbooks. He died while still in his prime. The second, his
younger brother Zelig, changed his family name to Broshi. After some time, he
immigrated to Antwerp, where he served as a teacher. He was in Belgium at the
outbreak of the Second World War. He survived, and lives today in New York.
He wrote two books  one on Rabbi Saadia Gaon and the second on Rabbi
Eliezer ben Horkonos
[4]
.
Aside from these books, he published articles in Yiddish and Hebrew in New
York newspapers, and also articles on explanations of books of the bible.

Footnotes
:

The Haggadah is the text of the home ceremony conducted on the first two
evenings of Passover (the Seder). Its main content is a relating of the story
of the Exodus from Egypt, interspersed with songs and prayers.
Return

The word used for heretic here is Apikorus. It derives from the Greek
philosopher Epicurus, whose philosophy was to enjoy this life because there is
nothing thereafter. It is the traditional Hebrew word for a heretic or
non-believer.
Return

A machzor (plural machzorim) is a holiday prayer book. A set of 5 machzorim
includes a volume for each of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesach, and
Shavuot.
Return

Saadia Gaon was a famous philosopher and leader during the late Babylonian
period (around 900). Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkonos is a Talmudic sage.
Return

{198}

The Founding Meeting of the Hacherut Organization
October 1, 1921

by Chaim Leibel Goelman of blessed memory

Translated by
Jerrold Landau

Members:

Madrykamien Litman

Imiol M. Tz.

Marek E.

Imiol Sh. G.

Marek Sara

Ipkowski Yaakov

Morus Y.

Ejmanska Etka

Morus K.

Bursztyn E. L.

Markus Y.

Berkowicz Elka

Mejzner Pinchas

Goelman Ch. L.

Milberg Chaim

Golombek Gutka

Siemion Rachel

Goldsztejn Gittel

Sachnowicz Zerach

Goldsztejn Natan

Sachnowicz Aharon

Golombowicz Leib

Sachnowicz Leib

Golombek B. Z.

Stolnicki Yaakov

Denenberg Z.

Salomon Lemel

Deneberg Y.

Perlowicz Feiga

Horowicz Reuven

Finkiel Ch.

Zarocki Moshe

Zipkowska Sh.

Chmielewski Z.

Kalinski Y. M.

Chmielewski Nechemya

Kaminski Chipa

Cheslok Rachel

Kreplak Chaya

Jakubcyner Gutka

Sztern G.

Linsberg Feiga

Szpiler Libe

Lejbik Rivka

Szwarc Natan

Lew Menachem

Charter of the Hacherut Organization

The union is an impartial, independent organization.

The organization will conduct enlightened activities for the youth in a Zionist
Socialist spirit.

Substantiation

Zionism: Taking into
consideration that the abnormal situation of the Jewish
people is a result of the their lack of a homeland for almost 2,000 years
already, Zionism strives to raise the level of the Jewish people to that of all
peoples, and to base the life of the people in its historic land, the Land of
Israel, and thereby to heal the wounds that they accumulated during their long
exile. This organization sets as its goal to educate its members in the
Zionist spirit, to strengthen the national feeling, and to raise a nationally
conscious youth, who will fulfil the deposit in the appropriate epoch.

Socialism: Taking into
consideration that Socialism strives to liquidate the
existing order, in which injustice and exploitation prevail, leading to wars
and bloodshed  its lofty aim is to rebuild human society on a basis of
freedom, justice, and collectivity. The organization sets as its goal to
educate the youth in a socialist spirit, and to awaken in them a social
consciousness so that they will ready for the social struggle.

In order to actualize the above
mentioned goals, the organization will base its activities upon the following
points:

It will arrange frequent readings on various topics. There will be a
particular emphasis on the development of Zionism and Socialism.

There will be lectures on Jewish history, politics, economics, etc.

In order to combat illiteracy, the organization will open courses to study
Yiddish, Hebrew and Polish, in accordance with individual desires.

A reading hall will be opened in the existing library.

Special funds will be raised for the library and the organization through
flower days, evenings, and the like.

It will work for all of the Zionist funds, especially for the national fund.

It will support the Socialist movement, professional unions, sick funds, and
the like.

Election Rules

Elections will be secret and will be conducted in the following manner:

Every member has the right to nominate candidates in writing.

The candidates with the greatest number of ballots will be selected.

There will be: a) a management committee of 7 members; b) a house committee of
6; c) an audit committee of 3; d) a reading hall committee of 3.

Each member can be elected to one committee.

Calling new elections requires the approval of two thirds of the members, or
alternatively, elections can be called by the audit committee if they find
errors in the work or the managing committee. They must bring their opinion
before the general meeting, which will make a decision based on a majority vote.

Management Duties

The management committee of 7 people selects a permanent chairman.

The management committee sends a member to each committee, and also selects a
secretary and a treasurer.

The management committee appoints a librarian and a library committee of 4
people.

The librarian, with the agreement of the management committee, can remove or
accept a member to the library.

The management committee has the duty to administer the program. They can also
accept a motion by a member during their meetings.

The management committee has the right to make decisions on all questions
related to the ideological activity of the organization; technical matters
must be brought to a general meeting.

The management committee sets recreational activities, evenings, etc.

The management committee has the duty to designate required material for public
readings, etc., and the engage lecturers.

The management committee has the rights to accept a new member.

The management committee has the right to change the membership fee, in
accordance with the needs of the organization.

Meetings of the membership committee take place once every two weeks.

Member's Duties

Each member must take interest in all that the organization undertakes, and
frequently visit the organization.

For not visiting the organization for the duration of a month, the member will
be called before an honorary judiciary committee.

Each member must ensure that an exemplary decorum prevails at reading events
and meetings.

Each member must submit himself to the discipline of the organization, and must
fulfill exactly his assignments based on the decisions of the management
committee or the other committees.

For not coming to the general meeting  after receiving an invitation
 a member will be strongly penalized.

New members will be accepted upon the recommendation of two members and the
payment of 500 Marks.

There will be reductions for those who do not have the means.

The membership fee must be paid by the 10
th
of each month.

Members will be not accepted if they are younger than 17 years of age.

One member cannot transfer his ballot to another.

For not paying the membership fee for a period of two months, a member will be
excluded from the organization.
Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

Auditor's Duties

The audit committee has the duty to issue a warning so that the organization
does not overstep its charter, to audit the work of the organization, to
oversee financial matters, etc.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who
do not have the means.

The audit committee must document every audit.Remark: There will be exceptions
for those who do not have the means.

The audit must not be less frequent than once a month.Remark: There will be
exceptions for those who do not have the means.

If it finds a bad ordinance, the audit committee has the right to call a
general meeting to remove the protocol.

General Statutes

This charter, or a portion thereof, can be changed by a vote with a majority of
two thirds, at a general meetings called by the management committee or the
audit committee.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the
means.

All polls (excluding elections and removing a member) are open.Remark: There
will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The reading events will be free for members. For non-members, there will be a
charge. (Changes can be made at the discretion of the management
committee.)Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the
means.

A member who refused to fulfill a statute or a protocol from a general meeting
can be removed by a decision by two thirds of the attendees of a general
meeting.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

General meetings will be held regularly four times a year; and extraordinarily
based on a decision.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have
the means.

A general meeting can make decisions with the participation of two thirds of
the members; if there are fewer, the meeting will be postponed.Remark: There
will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The chairman: at the general meetings, he will be elected by the assembled.
For reading events, he will be decided upon by the managing committee.

Rights of the Chairman

The chairman directs the meeting. All members must relate to him with respect
and trust. For insulting or expressing mistrust in him, one can be
removed.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The chairman issues a warning that the speaker should hold to the topic under
consideration. After three notices, he can remove the right of
speaking.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

Prior to removing the right of speaking from a speaker, the chairman must
clarify why he is doing this.

The General Meeting

Elects all committees.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not
have the means.

Considers the report of the audit committee.Remark: There will be exceptions
for those who do not have the means.

Confirms those matters that the management committee does not have the right to
decide on its own.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have
the means.

Can remove a member.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have
the means.

Can change a point or a statute.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who
do not have the means.

All votes (except for elections, and removing a member) are open.

Library System

A librarian and a 4-person committee will be chosen.Remark: There will be
exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The librarian and his committee will be subordinate to the management
committee.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The initiative to purchase new books belongs to the librarian, with the
approval of the management committee.Remark: There will be exceptions for
those who do not have the means.

The library is open to borrow books two times a week  Monday and
Thursday.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

Each leader pays monthly dues and a zalog
[1]
for the book (except for those
who do not have the means).Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do
not have the means.

Removing and accepting members to the library committee can only take place
with the approval of the management committee.Remark: There will be exceptions
for those who do not have the means.

The timeframe for borrowing a book is 14 days. For each overdue day, there
will be a payment of 5 Marks.

Statutes of the Reading Hall

The reading hall is an independent entity.Remark: There will be exceptions for
those who do not have the means.

Daily newspapers, periodicals and brochures will come into the reading
hall.Remark: There will be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The reading hall is open from 7:00 to 10:00 in the evening.Remark: There will
be exceptions for those who do not have the means.

The entry fee is 10 Marks. The weekly fee is 50 Marks. For members: 5 Marks
per reader, and free entry for non-readers.

Footnotes
:

I am not sure of the meaning of this word. It is some sort of fee, obviously.
Return

Approximately fifty years ago,
a chapter of Hechalutz was founded in our town by a group of youth. The
founding of Hechalutz was a significant occurrence in our town. This was the
fruit of the vision of a few, who did not find satisfaction in the realities
that surrounded them, a reality without aim and purpose. They were brazen
enough to see into the future. Hidden in their bosom was the realization of
the desire of their hearts  a group of young people dreaming, struggling,
and making aliya to the Land of Israel to work it and protect it.

The founding of Hechalutz did
not arouse any opposition or negative reaction from the Jews of the town, most
of whom were well rooted. Even though they were faithful to traditional
Judaism, they accepted the change that was taking place amongst the youth with
full understanding, for they realized that there was no future for the Jewish
youth in the town, and life in the town was not going to provide them with a
goal.

At first, we were few, and our
work was confined to a room that was the size of a door squared. However,
within a short period of time, other boys and girls joined the small group, and
a new life, vibrant and full of content, was infused into the Hechalutz
organization of our town. We devised an interesting and practical program of
work, and, through this; we succeeded in instilling the pioneering idea to the
majority of the Jewish youth in town. Only a small number of the youth chose
different movements.

As new members joined, we
became the center of pioneering Zionist publicity in the town, a center that
could take credit for much successful activity. We succeeded in implanting the
pioneering Zionist idea into the Jews, who up to that time were quite distant
from this mindset. Through our educational programs, we showed the youth ways
to serve their nation and their Land, and to prepare themselves to a free life
in their Land. We served not only as an ideological center, but also as a
practical center for hachsharah (preparation) towards aliya and labor. Until
we were able to fulfil our objective
[1]
,
we were practically the only pioneering youth movement in town. Youth
continued to join us; and, from our side, we did what we could in order to
take them under our wings in order to prepare them for realizing their aliya.
It seems to me that we fulfilled this objective in a non-trivial manner, and
the number of natives of our town who made aliya testify to this.

Translator's Footnotes
:

I assume that this means until the time that the majority of the leading
members actually made aliya themselves.
Return

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